Hanukkah's universal message

Kind acts, light over darkness are prevailing themes

STOCKTON - Tonight, in Jewish homes across San Joaquin County, a special candle called the shamash will be lit. In turn, the shamash will light the first of eight candles - one on each of the next eight nights.

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By Kevin Parrish

recordnet.com

By Kevin Parrish

Posted Dec. 8, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 8, 2012 at 5:07 PM

By Kevin Parrish

Posted Dec. 8, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 8, 2012 at 5:07 PM

» Social News

STOCKTON - Tonight, in Jewish homes across San Joaquin County, a special candle called the shamash will be lit. In turn, the shamash will light the first of eight candles - one on each of the next eight nights.

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, begins with the symbolic family ceremony and songs.

It is considered a minor holiday on the annual Jewish calendar, but as Temple Israel Rabbi Jason Gass-doff said, it has come up a notch in a post-Holocaust world.

"Of course, with its proximity to Christmas, Jewish parents don't want their kids to feel like they got thrown under the bus," Gassdoff said. "We don't want our kids to feel marginalized and different while our neighbors are celebrating a special holiday.

"But you could also look at the place of Jewish people at this time. We have the sovereignty of Israel for the first time in 2,000 years. The last time the nation was whole was when the Maccabees fought their battle to take back the temple."

The tradition of lighting the Hanukkah menora, or hanukiah, stems from that point in history - the last time, until now, that Israel was a free nation.

In Stockton, a Jewish outreach organization known as Chabad has placed a large menorah at Weber Point as part of its Hanukkah observance.

"Light dispels darkness," said Rabbi Avrohom Brod, 34. "Everywhere you look, there is darkness. The only way to light our world is through acts of goodness and kindness. That's the idea of Hanukkah and it's a universal message, not just Jewish."

At Temple Israel, there is a make-your-own hanukiah contest under way. "People really go to town," said the 54-year-old Gassdoff. "Some people get really creative and use interesting materials."

The hanukiah is a nine-branched candelabrum, with the shamash placed in an elevated position. Families will use the shamash to light one candle each night until Dec. 16.

Temple Israel will hold a special Hanukkah service Friday. It will be followed by a dinner.

"Hanukkah is a story about freedom, and it's a story about self-determination," said Gassdoff, who is in his 20th year in Stockton. "When I talk to school kids about it, I try to contextualize it for non-Jewish kids. I often compare it to the Fourth of July."